


Misunderstandings

by spitfiresparrow



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:35:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24725383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spitfiresparrow/pseuds/spitfiresparrow
Summary: Things are going well for Ellie, she's found her place in the small community of Jackson and has the girl of her dreams. But what happens when her ex makes a reappearance and Dina finds out?
Relationships: Dina & Ellie (The Last of Us), Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 344





	Misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

> A totally un-beta'd oneshot that I'd forgotten I'd written! With TLOU2 release so close now I figured I may as well post this now otherwise I'll never get round to it!

“So, I saw Kat today…” Dina’s voice was soft, breaking the peaceful silence that had enveloped the room. Honestly, Ellie had thought that she had already fallen asleep, but no, she had just been lying quietly overthinking how to bring this up. 

“Kat?” Ellie asked a little confused, it had been a name she hadn’t heard in a while, and there was only one Kat that she knew. Who hadn’t been around in a while…

Dina’s frustrated sigh was louder than her words and Ellie just knew, even in the darkness of the bedroom, that she was rolling her eyes. “Don’t act dumb” she grumbled. “You know exactly who I’m talking about”

“You mean -”

“Your ex? Strong, smart, witty, stunning Kat? Yeah” Dina couldn’t have sounded less bitter if she had tried, but Ellie didn’t even notice her girlfriend’s tone. 

“She’s back? What? When did this happen?” She asked as she sat up in bed. 

“Oh okay, now you’re not tired” Dina muttered to herself, clearly irritated that Ellie still held an interest in the older girl. “I don’t know, the other day” she shrugged acting uninterested before rolling onto her side and pretending to try and go to sleep. 

Was she being ridiculous? Should she be feeling hurt by the fact that Ellie was being inquisitive about her ex coming back to town?

“Where did you see her? How did she look?”

_How did she look?? Is that really what you’re asking me??_

Dina had to bite her tongue not to snap at the other girl and just stayed silent for a few more moments.

“Dina…” Ellie pryed and that was it, she lost her temper. 

“If you care so much why don’t you go ask her yourself and let me get some fucking rest!”

The bedroom fell silent once more, save for Dina’s heavy and irritated breathing. 

“Don’t know why you’re getting so fucking moody, you brought it up” she heard Ellie mutter before the mattress shook from the way Ellie rolled onto her side away from Dina. 

“Wow, you really are dumb” Dina huffed and closed her eyes, desperate to just go to sleep now. 

\--

When Ellie woke the next morning the other side of the bed was already cold, Dina must have been gone a while. She sighed as she rolled over onto her back, remembering how Dina had gotten in a mood with her the night before. 

This was probably the last place her mind ought to be going but...Kat was back?

Ellie couldn’t help but be intrigued. 

She lay in bed for ten more minutes, enjoying not having to be up early and out on patrol, but that was about as much as she could stand before she got bored. 

After a warm shower she made her way downstairs to find Joel sat at the kitchen table. 

“Mornin’” he grumbled roughly as she immediately went looking for some food, grunting in response to his greeting.

“No Dina this mornin’?” he asked and Ellie shrugged, “Early shift at the clinic I guess” 

“You guess?”

Ellie shrugged as she buttered some bread and sat down opposite him. 

“Everything okay, kiddo?”

“Perfectly fine” Ellie lied, which was a mistake because Joel was pretty much a human lie detector when it came to Ellie. He knew her better than anyone. 

His eyebrow rose which was his way of telling Ellie he knew she was bullshitting him and she sighed, rolling her eyes before taking a bite out of the bread. 

“We had a bit of a disagreement” she shrugged before adding “Kat’s back” 

“Kat? You mean your old friend? What’s that got to do with Dina?”

“Dina’s jealous I guess” she shrugged. 

“Because your friend is back?”

Ellie swallowed the bread and looked up at him, slight frown on her face as she observed him, trying to decide if he was acting dumb on purpose or was actually dumb.

“Oh wow, you really don’t have a fucking clue do you?” she couldn’t help but laugh softly at the thought of lie-detector Joel being so clueless. Her words just caused him to scowl across the table at her and she rolled her eyes in response. 

“Me and Kat...we weren’t just friends old man”

“What?” 

Did she really have to spell it out for him? Ellie lifted an eyebrow and studied him, smile growing as she saw the realisation dawn on his face. 

“You and Kat?” he let out a breath and sat back in his chair, clearly surprised. “How the Hell did I not know that?”

“Beats me” Ellie shrugged as she stood up and went to get herself a hot drink. “I mean, I’d have thought it would’ve been kinda obvious”

“Must be getting old” Joel chuckled to himself and looked over at Ellie as she headed back to the table, handing him a mug of hot tea. 

“Honestly, I thought you knew all along, you were just being polite and waiting for me to tell you myself” she explained and Joel smiled, taking the mug. 

“I was blissfully unaware” he smiled and sipped his drink. “Think I might prefer it that way, ‘cept with Dina I don’t get a choice. She’s always in my face” His words weren’t said with annoyance though, Ellie could see the affection in his eyes as he spoke about the other girl. Joel liked to act annoyed that Dina was always around but Ellie knew he cared a lot for her really. 

“So Dina got reason to be jealous?” he asked after a few moments of silence and Ellie’s eyes shot up to meet his.

“No!” she replied instantly.

“Alrigh’, alrigh’” he chuckled. “Just askin’”

Ellie sighed and sipped at her tea. “Kat was a good friend, before anything else, I’d like to see her” she shrugged. “But I don’t want Dina to be weird about it”

Joel reached across the table and squeezed Ellie’s hand affectionately. 

“Just be honest with her, Ellie” he advised. “The one thing I know about women? That they don’t like to think you do something behind their back” 

He squeezed her hand once more before standing. “Anyway, I better get going. Said I’d help Tommy building a fence to keep the little ‘un from running out the garden” 

Joel acted tough half the time but Ellie knew he was a big softie at heart. And it couldn’t have been more clear than when he spoke of his nephew. 

“Oh wow, I was gonna ask if you wanted to hang out with me today” she sighed dramatically. “But I see, the kid comes first now huh?” 

“You always come first, kiddo” he teased, reaching out and ruffling her hair, making her bat him away. “Just I’m more scared of Maria than I am of you” he shrugged and pulled on his jacket. “Don’t leave it too long before checking in on Dina, okay?” he said before disappearing out of the door and leaving Ellie alone. 

Joel was right, she knew that. But she also knew how ridiculous Dina’s worries were and it pissed her off that Dina apparently didn’t even trust her loyalty to her. 

“Fuck it” she grumbled and stood up herself, grabbing her bag and hunting gear, deciding that an afternoon out in the woods would clear her head. She’d deal with Dina tonight.

As soon as she walked out of the door though she was met with the last face she was expecting to see.

“Kat…”

“Hey” The older girl had barely changed, hair still short and styled to perfection, arms covered in perhaps even more tattoos than before, and eyes still full of amusement as she looked at Ellie. 

“I uh - heard you were back” she admit, stumbling over her words from the surprise of seeing her here. 

“And let me guess, you were just on your way to see me?” she asked with one immaculate eyebrow raised. 

Ellie laughed, hating how it came out nervously, “Was just about to go out on a hunt actually” she shrugged, readjusting her bow on her back. 

“Want a partner?” Kat asked, eyes still fixed on Ellie.

“A par -” she began and then looked up at Kat. “Oh. On the hunt. Uh, yeah sure…” she smiled slightly. 

“Perfect. Let me just go get my stuff. Meet you by the gates?”  
“Sounds good” Ellie nodded and as she watched Kat’s retreating form she wondered what she had done. This was not going to go down well with Dina, even though it was literally nothing more than two of the most skilled hunters in Jackson spending the day together. On a hunt.

\--

“El, hey…” The warm hand on her elbow caused Ellie to pause on her way back through Jackson’s high gates, and she turned back to her hunting partner for the afternoon, Kat. 

“What’s up?” she asked, eyes searching the other girls’ for any sign of trouble or distress.

“Nothing, I just -” Kat paused, ran a hand through her and then smiled softly at Ellie. “I’ve just had a good time today”

Ellie smiled and nodded. “Yeah, me too” she agreed. It had been a long time since she had last had a chance to just head out of the gates and hunt, it had all been patrols lately and Joel had been too busy to go hunting with her in their downtime.

“Yeah, and so I was wondering, if you know, maybe you wanted to do something again soon?” she asked. 

“Oh yeah, sure” Ellie agreed softly, mind racing as she tried to understand what was happening here. She had never been very good at noticing when people were flirting with her, or asking her out. Surely this wasn’t what Kat was doing right now, right? “We could uh - we could go hunting again yeah” she smiled and so did Kat and Ellie could feel her ears reddening. She had seen that smile before and it spelt trouble. 

“Yeah we could…” Kat nodded, starting to take a few steps closer to Ellie. “Or you know, we could hang out you know like we used to?” The suggestive tone of Kat’s words did not go unnoticed this time and Ellie took a step back, blush creeping up her neck and finding herself unable to meet Kat’s gaze. 

“I uh - I don’t think Dina would like that…” she shrugged gently, stuffing her hands in her pockets, needing something to do with them. She hated how easily she felt uncomfortable in situations like this. She wished Dina was here, Dina was great at handling this kind of thing.

“Dina?” Kat’s eyebrow rose, an amused smile on her face as she looked at the way Ellie fidgeted uncomfortably under her gaze. 

“Yeah, about this tall -” She lifted a hand out of her pocket to show Dina’s size. “Dark hair, never stops talking” she teased, it was easier to joke than face the reality of this situation. 

“I’m not sure why what Dina thinks matters in this situation” Kat admit, leaning up against a nearby tree, and Ellie had to envy how ridiculously calm and cool her ex could act in this sort of situation. This is exactly how Ellie had ended up in this sort of situation with her before. 

“Wait - are you and her?” Kat asked after a moment, eyes searching Ellie’s and widening when she found the answer on the other girls’ face. “Wow, seriously?” she pushed herself off of the tree and closer to Ellie. “I’m impressed” she admit as she folded her arms and looked Ellie up and down. “You finally managed to get your words out coherently enough to ask her out?” She sounded genuinely surprised. 

Kat had known that Ellie had a thing for Dina even back when they were together, but she hadn’t honestly thought anything would happen from it. Ellie was too shy when it came to girls she liked, and Dina - well, she was into guys. Or so Kat had thought.

When Ellie didn’t say anything more Kat nodded, “Okay well uh - I guess I best let you get back to Dina” she said softly. “But hit me up if you want to go out hunting again, or you know, a drink?” she suggest. “Just as friends, of course. And you could invite your lovely lady” she teased, winking at Ellie before nudging her in the shoulder as she walked passed and into the town.

Ellie stood there floundered, watching Kat’s disappearing form. Had Kat really just tried to get back with her?

\--

When Ellie walked into the house she was hit by a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. “Joel, m’home” she called out as she kicked off her boots and hung her backpack up alongside her coat, he got real antsy if she left it on the floor. 

When she didn’t get a reply she just shrugged and headed through to the kitchen, surprised to see a rather more feminine figure stood at the stove. 

“Well that explains why it actually smells like decent food in here” she laughed softly as she leant in the doorway. 

The sound of her voice must have caught Dina off guard because she jumped slightly and looked over at the doorway with slightly frantic eyes which softened as soon as she noticed who was stood there.

“Oh. Ellie. You scared me” she smiled.

“So should I be worried about your breaking and entry habits, or worrying about Joel forgetting to lock the door?” she asked with a raised eyebrow as she pushed herself off the frame of the door and over to Dina. 

“He actually came and gave me a key if you must know” she replied with a huff, even as Ellie’s arms slid around her waist. “Something about how Ellie always forgets her key and he wouldn’t be home until late” she teased.

“Fucking Joel” Ellie rolled her eyes and began to remove her arms from around the smaller girl only for Dina to grasp hold of them and pull them tight around her waist once more.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Nowhere. Apparently” Ellie rolled her eyes dramatically but the small smile on her face was enough of a giveaway that she really didn’t mind not being allowed to move. 

“Anyway don’t be mad at Joel, what would you have done if you’d come back without a key?”

“Come round to yours” she shrugged.

“Oh yeah?” Dina laughed softly, turning in Ellie’s arms to look up at her now. “And spend the evening with my Mother glaring at you and insisting my little brother sit between us?” she asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. “Thanks to Joel we get a house to ourselves for most of the evening”

Ellie looked down at Dina silently for a few moments as she pretended to consider her words. “Huh, sure. Fine, praise the old man” she rolled her eyes and Dina smiled up at her. “I missed you” Ellie added after a few moments, and she knew she had said the right thing when Dina’s smile grew and spread across her face. 

“I missed you too” she admit as she leaned up and brushed her lips against Ellie’s. 

This was the perfect thing to come home to, Ellie thought as she brushed another kiss to Dina’s lips.

When they broke apart Dina slid her arms from around Ellie and turned her attention back to the stove. “So how was your day? What have you been up to?” she asked as she continued cooking.

“I just went out hunting with Kat” Ellie replied conversationally as she walked over to the sink and poured herself a glass of water. 

“Kat?” Dina’s pitch was a little higher than usual and she had turned to look at her with eyebrows raised, but Ellie was still blissfully unaware as she took a long drink of water. 

“Yeah” she nodded when she put the glass down. “It was nice actually. Just to get out there and spend the day hunting. Plus Kat’s in much better shape than Joel, so less hanging around waiting for her to catch up” she laughed. 

“Seriously?” Dina asked with a frown, letting the wooden spoon she was using fall and clatter to the floor. 

“What?” 

“Do you actually hear yourself??” Dina asked angrily as she turned and glared at her girlfriend. “Oh I’m just thrilled to hear that Kat’s in great shape” she rolled her eyes and stormed across the kitchen and out into the living room area, leaving Ellie stood at the sink looking completely confused.

“At least now I know why you didn’t sound too thrilled to see me here!” She heard Dina shouting from in the living room. “I’m surprised Kat isn’t out here waiting for you to get rid of me. Well, don’t worry I’m going!”

Ellie just stared at the empty doorway with confusion writ across her face. 

“Dina” she sighed and walked out of the kitchen to find Dina already pulling her own boots on.

“Where are you going?”

“Home”

“Why?”

“You know why” she spat as she fastened the buttons on her jacket. 

“Di, I know you” Ellie shrugged, stepping towards the other girl. “If you really wanted to leave you’d have stormed out without even thinking about it, leaving your coat here” she explained. 

When Dina said nothing Ellie continued, “You’re just waiting for me to say the right thing, bring that smile back to your face and then we can go eat”

“Oh fuck off, Ellie” Dina replied angrily, pushing Ellie away. “Invite Kat over, I’m sure she’d love to have dinner with you” 

And with that Dina was walking out of the house, slamming the door behind her. 

\--

“Hey beautiful”

“Are those for me?” Dina asked, nodding down to the bunch of wildflowers that Ellie clutched in her hand.

“Yeah well, turns out Joel actually quite likes having you around” Ellie shrugged. “Sat me down and said ‘you go tell that girl you’re sorry, and how much you care about her’” Ellie’s terrible imitation of Joel’s rough voice caused Dina to almost smile. “Go get her some flowers, get on yer knees and grovel if y’ave to” she continued and Dina had to look away, not wanting Ellie to see her smile. 

“So uh yeah, here you go I guess…” she said in her own voice, holding the flowers out to Dina. “I mean, I don’t really get it myself, but I guess it’s meant to say I love you and I want to make it up to you” she shrugged, “Or at least that’s what it meant back in Joel’s time” she explained. “Hey, I wonder how many times Joel’s tried this trick on girls?” she asked amusedly as Dina took the flowers and breathed in their scent. “Can you imagine that? Big tough ol’ Joel begging some girl to forgive him ‘cause he picked her some nice little flowers?” Ellie laughed at the thought.

“You know it’s not magic, right?” Dina interrupted, looking up at Ellie now. “It’s not like some instant fix and just because you give me flowers and say some crap about what Joel tells you it means it fixes everything between us, right?”

Ellie sighed, the smile fading. “Give me a break, huh?” she asked, but her tone wasn’t one of annoyance but one of defeat. “I’m fucking nervous” Ellie admit as she leant against the desk in the small clinic waiting area. “It’s not like I’ve ever done this before, you know? I mean, me and Kat had one argument and then we broke up” she explained with a shrug. “Fuck” she added after Dina’s raised eyebrow caused her to realise she had mentioned her ex’s name. “I know she’s not exactly the person I should be talking about right now, but it’s true. Didn’t care enough to go and pick her some fucking flowers. You should see the scratches on my arms by the way, Joel didn’t tell me there’d be thorns and nettles - though I suppose I deserve it for being such a dick to you” 

“You weren’t a dick” Dina’s voice was small, so unlike her and Ellie looked up to meet her eyes, desperately searching them for any clue as to what the other girl was thinking. “I suppose maybe I overreacted. Just a little…” There was the slightest hint of a smile on Dina’s lips but that was enough to make Ellie smile brightly, the weight of the last few days lifting from her shoulders. 

“You? Overreact?” she teased, taking a few steps closer to Dina. “I guess overreacting isn’t so bad?” she added once she was close enough to reach for Dina’s hand. “Means you care, right?”

“No shit” Dina rolled her eyes but didn’t pull her hand from Ellie’s. 

“Yeah well, I care too” she said softly. “Hence the flowers and the groveling and -”

“Groveling? Oh come on, you’ve hardly grovelled” Dina laughed and now it was Ellie’s turn to raise her eyebrows. 

“Wow okay. Meet me by our spot after your shift and I’ll show you groveling” Ellie replied sarcastically and Dina let go of her hand, pushing her away gently.

“Bring alcohol, I imagine I’m going to need it” Dina teased and turned her back on Ellie, laying the flowers down on the desk and getting back on with some work. 

“So is that a yes?”

“Ellie, just leave” Dina replied with a roll of her eyes.

“As you wish” Ellie responded softly, taking one last look at Dina and leaving the building.

When she heard the sound of the door close Dina sighed and leant back against the nearest counter, looking over at the flowers. 

_“...I guess it’s meant to say I love you and I want to make it up to you”_

Ellie’s words repeated in Dina’s head. She could tell that the other girl had been nervous from the way she was rambling on. Ellie only ever spoke like that when she was nervous or over excited about something. Often it wasn’t uncommon for her to stick to one syllable, especially if she was tired. 

She had been nervous and she had said those three words that had been on the tip of Dina’s tongue a number of times lately. Had Ellie even realised she had said it? Dina doubted it, but that didn’t stop the words repeating in her head through the rest of her shift.

\-- 

Getting her hands on decent alcohol at such short notice was not easy and had cost her a few early morning guard shifts but if it meant getting Dina back then it would undoubtedly be worth it.

By the time Dina’s shift had finished and she had walked across town to their quiet spot by the lake it was pretty dark. Ellie had managed to stand a few torches up so they wouldn’t just be sat in the darkness, and was just setting up another when she heard the crunching of leaves signalling Dina’s approach.

“Hey” she said softly. 

“You got wine?” Dina asked as she glanced down at the blanket Ellie had laid across the ground with a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses on top of it. 

“Uh, yeah. Wine” she smiled softly and reached for the bottle to pour some for Dina. 

Wordlessly Dina sat down on the blanket, at the opposite end to Ellie, and took the glass when it was offered to her. 

To Ellie it felt like an age of just silently watching Dina sip at the wine. “So uh, how was your shift?” she asked eventually, wanting to break this silence. 

“Cut the bullshit smalltalk, Ellie” Dina sighed, knees drawn up to her chest as she sipped her wine. 

“Okay…” Ellie said softly as she searched for the right words to say. “How about I’m sorry?” she offered after a moment.

“Sorry for what?”

“Everything”

Dina huffed and rolled her eyes, reaching out for the bottle to refill her glass. “You know ‘sorry’ doesn’t mean anything if you don’t know what you’re meant to be sorry for, right?” she asked irritatedly. 

Ellie frowned and looked down at the blanket beneath her and thought over her next words. Dina was already pissed off with her, if she were smart she'd do what she could to say the right thing and not annoy Dina even further. 

“I’m sorry that I care for you so fucking much that the thought of being with someone else doesn’t even occur to me. I’m sorry that I’m so into you that I don’t even notice if another girl’s flirting with me, or coming onto me. And I’m sorry that I didn’t realise that spending time with Kat might hurt you because I care about you so much that she’s literally nothing more than an old friend to me whilst you’re my first and last thought every single fucking day” Ellie rambled out her words, scared that if she didn’t just let them spill out of her she would lose her confidence and refuse to even say anything.

“Wow, you really have a way with words there Romeo” Dina’s words caused Ellie to scoff and roll her eyes. 

“That’s not fair, you know I didn’t understand that bullshit book” she mumbled, her fingers absently playing with the frayed edges of the blanket that they sat on. 

“It’s a compliment. And it’s not a book it’s a _play_ ” Dina argued but Ellie raised her eyebrows disbelievingly. “Alright, fine, it’s meant to be an insult. But in a complementary way” she tried to explain and then they both went back to sitting in silence for a few moments. 

“It’s not that I - that I don’t trust you around her” Dina began to explain, piquing Ellie’s interest and causing her green eyes to lift from the blanket and study the girl sat opposite her. “Deep down I suppose I know that you wouldn’t just cheat on me with her, or anyone else” she continued, causing Ellie to frown at the thought of cheating on Dina with anyone. “It’s just, she was your first girlfriend. And I saw how enamoured you were with her” 

Even when Ellie had been with Kat her and Dina had been the best of friends, they told each other everything and she knew how much Ellie had liked being with Kat. 

“Dina -”

“Let me finish” Ellie fell silent once more. 

“We’re only together because she broke your heart and left” Dina continued and Ellie opened her mouth to argue but the look Dina shot her soon shut her up once more. “And well, as happy as we’ve been together, I guess I’m scared that now she’s back she’ll want you again. And why wouldn’t you want her? She’s strong, smart, gorgeous…” Dina trailed off, obviously hating what she thought of as the truth.

“Can I speak now?” Ellie asked after a few more moments of Dina’s silence. When the other girl nodded Ellie took a deep breath and begun. “Firstly, I’d hardly say she broke my heart” she said with a roll of her eyes. “And secondly, I couldn’t give two fucks if she wanted me. I’m taken” Even if this went downhill and Dina left Ellie she knew she would still be taken. Dina had a hold over her and that wasn’t going to be broken anytime soon. 

“You’re just loyal. It’ll fade eventually”

“Shut up” Ellie argued exasperatedly, getting a raised eyebrow from Dina but then silence.

“Did I have fun with Kat? Yeah, sure. But I was only with her because she was the one that asked me out” she tried to explain. “Yeah I thought she was cool and funny. She was hot” Ellie shrugged. “But when she decided to leave I was kinda relieved”

Dina shifted slightly and Ellie knew this was her taking more interest in her words. 

“I was falling for someone else” Ellie practically whispered. “Like you say, Di. I’m loyal” It was one of her greatest traits, she knew that. “No matter how many times I had to fight tears when I saw the way Jesse made you smile. Or how I had to force myself to think of anything but the way the whole room brightens when you smile because it hurt so fucking much knowing that your smile was for someone else. No matter what I did, I’ve never been able to lessen this hold you have on me” Dina could hear Ellie’s voice breaking with the emotion behind each word and it took a lot to stop herself from reaching out for her. 

“When Kat was mine I was yours” she continued after a moment. “And now she’s back I’m still yours. I’ll always be yours no matter what” 

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep”

“I’m not”

A heavy silence fell between them once more, and Ellie started picking at the frayed blanket once more. 

“You know this is the part where you’re supposed to kiss the girl and make her forget this whole ordeal, right?” Dina asked after a moment, her voice soft, timid even.

“Sorry I don’t read those stupid romance novels like you do” Ellie rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips. 

“You sure? Because it turns out you actually know a bit more about romancing a girl than I’d given you credit for before”

“Shut up” Ellie grumbled.

“God it’s so sexy when you tell me what to do” This time the roll of Dina’s eyes caused Ellie to laugh and move, Dina watching a little worried she was going to leave. 

Instead Ellie sat back down beside Dina this time. “You-” she whispered, fingers brushing away the tear stains on Dina’s cheeks that neither had quite noticed were there. “-are every single dream I’ve ever, had come true” 

“Cheesy”

“Hmm. You love it” Ellie smirked.

“Huh” Dina agreed. _I love you_. She thought as she felt Ellie cup her cheek, her eyes drifted closed as their lips met in a soft kiss. A kiss which instantly caused the fears and worries of the last few days to dissipate. 

When Ellie deepened the kiss, her arm sliding around her waist, Dina moaned softly against her lips and leant into her touch. She had missed this. So so much. 

“You know, Joel said he’s gonna be out pretty late” Ellie whispered against her cheek when they eventually broke apart. 

“Oh you think you’re going to get lucky, huh?” Dina teased and she could tell, even in this lighting, that the whole of Ellie’s face had gone bright red from the ‘What?? No!’ that she replied with. 

Dina chuckled and tangled her fingers with Ellie’s. “I like it here” she whispered. “Let’s just lay here a little while?” 

“Okay” Ellie agreed, letting Dina tug her down to lay on the blanket, looking up at the night sky. “I’d have brought a pillow but I was in a rush…” she explained but felt the shake of Dina’s head. 

“No need” she insist as she lay beside Ellie, head coming to rest on the taller girl’s chest. “This is perfect” she smiled, hand laying flat across Ellie’s taut stomach. 

“Yeah” Ellie breathed out softly. “Yeah it is” she smiled, her arm coming to rest around Dina’s shoulders, holding the other girl close to her. 

Ellie wasn’t too sure how long they lay there, but she found she didn’t much care. This was perfection, this was the happiness and the belonging that she had been seeking her entire life. 

“Hey, Di…” she whispered softly, her fingers gently brushing through the other girl’s hair. 

“Hmm?”

A smile spread across Ellie’s face at the way her girlfriend didn’t even lift her head from her chest, at the way Dina seemed relaxed in her embrace. 

“I -” she hesitated a moment, willing herself to be brave for once. To be brave the way she would be if she were faced with a Clicker. “I love you” she finally whispered, feeling as though her heart had stopped as she waited for Dina’s response.  
“Yeah. I know” was the casual response and the shrug that she received in return, causing Ellie’s brow to furrow in confusion. “You kinda told me earlier, with the flowers” she explained, finally lifting her head to meet Ellie’s eyes, still full of confusion. “Though from the gormless expression on your face I take it you had no idea you’d said it”

Dina actually had the audacity to chuckle at her own words now, as realisation dawned on Ellie’s face. 

“ _Fuck!_ ” Ellie grumbled and lay her head back down on the blanket, eyes squeezed closed. “I was like - I wanted to be romantic. With the blanket and the candles and shit…”

“Candles?” Dina laughed softly. “Ellie you used torches. In fact you used the torch you take on patrols with you, I swear it’s still got blood from that runner on it. That’s what you call romantic?” she teased with her perfect eyebrows raised. 

“You’re such a dick” Ellie huffed and rolled onto her side, shoving Dina off of her. 

Dina just smiled brighter and moved to Ellie’s side, wrapping her arms around her from behind and holding her close. “Oh and you know I could totally hear your brain whirring as you tried to get up the courage to tell me right?” Ellie rolled her eyes and pretended to ignore her. “And I totally know you were imagining me as a Clicker too” she smirked, pressing her chin to Ellie’s shoulder, smile growing as the taller girl continued to ignore her. 

“And Ellie?” she said softly after a few more moments. “There’s one more thing you should know” she pressed her body closer and kissed Ellie’s shoulder. “I love you too” she whispered happily. 

It took a few moments before Ellie responded, her eyes opening as she turned her head enough to take in Dina’s features, to try and figure out if she were being truthful. In response Dina just grinned and pressed her lips to Ellie’s. 

“Now come on Williams, your old man didn’t make his excuses tonight so that we could lay out here stargazing” she winked and pushed herself to her feet, offering her hand to Ellie who took it and pulled herself up too. 

“Oh. And bring your ‘blood torch’ to bed, I want to be able to see you” she smirked and let go of Ellie’s hand as she started the short walk back to Ellie and Joel’s house. 

“Such a dick” Ellie repeated to herself as she quickly gathered the blanket and the torches, following Dina back towards the house. 

This may not have been exactly how she had envisioned tonight going, but it didn’t matter. Happiness bloomed inside her chest as she walked and Ellie knew that this was what all the pain, blood and tears she had gone through in her short life had been for. For this moment here, with the most perfect girl, for a love that they shared and a future that they could now work towards.


End file.
